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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Oh my, how sweet the peaches are right now! The batter for this cake is very light and tender, yet not overly sweet. The sweetness comes mostly from the juicy ripe peaches. Perfect for that backyard picnic!

The inspiration for this recipe came from Southern Living's June 2012 "Summer's Best Recipes. I changed a couple of things to make it mine. Hope you enjoy!

Spread the caramelized sugar to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly and sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Arrange the peach wedges over the sugar mixture, overlapping if you wish.

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rough chopped pecans

arrange peaches

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. You can scrape a knife along the inside of the pod, or even your fingernail will do. Beat the vanilla seeds and the remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter at medium speed until smooth.

3/4 cup granulated sugar

split the vanilla bean

scrape out the vanilla "caviar"

Add the vanilla seeds to the sugar.

Mix.

1/2 cup butter

mix until smooth

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each one.

2 eggs - mix in between

Add sour cream, beating until well blended.

1/2 cup sour cream (I used the "light" version)

Gradually add the sifted flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended and stopping to scrape down the bowl when needed.

sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda

Try not to eat all this batter before it makes it to the pan. It's delicious! See the flecks of vanilla beans?

Spoon the batter over the peaches in the skillet, and spread to cover. Place the skillet on a baking sheet (in case any of the juices boil over).

spoon it out. It's fluffy, not runny. It won't "pour"

spread lightly over the peaches

spread to the edges

Ready for the oven. I put it on a cookie sheet - just in case.

Bake at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the skillet for 8-10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake. If your fruit was really juicy, there may be excess liquid in the
skillet. That's fine. Carefully pour any excess liquid into a cup and
reserve to serve over the top.

golden brown and springy

loosen with a knife

If you'd like, serve the cake with the cinnamon amaretto whipped cream. To make the whipped cream - Pour the heavy whipping cream into a very
cold mixing bowl, and whip on high, adding cinnamon, amaretto and
powdered sugar. Whip until soft peaks hold their place when you lift
the beater. Refrigerate whipped cream until you are ready to serve it.

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tsp amaretto

1 tsp cinammon

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

Cinnamon amaretto whipped cream

Carefully invert the cake onto a serving
plate and drizzle with any reserved liquid.Written Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss the sliced peaches with lemon juice.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Cook
1/2 cup granulated sugar in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium
heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Stir for about 7-10
minutes or until sugar melts and becomes an amber color. Remove from
heat and immediately add 1/4 cup butter, stirring vigorously. Spread
the caramelized sugar to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly and
sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Arrange the peach wedges over the
sugar mixture, overlapping if you wish.

Split
the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the bowl of a
heavy duty stand mixer. You can scrape a knife along the inside of the
pod, or even your fingernail will do. Beat the vanilla seeds and the
remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter at medium speed
until smooth.

Add
eggs, 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each one. Add sour
cream, beating until well blended. Gradually add the sifted flour
mixture, beating at low speed just until blended and stopping to scrape
down the bowl when needed.

Spoon
the batter over the peaches in the skillet, and spread to cover. Place
the skillet on a baking sheet (in case any of the juices boil over). Bake
at 350 F for about 40 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick
inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the skillet for 8-10
minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake. If
your fruit was really juicy, there may be excess liquid in the
skillet. That's fine. Carefully pour any excess liquid into a cup and
reserve to serve over the top. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving
plate and drizzle with any reserved liquid.

If
you'd like, serve the cake with the cinnamon amaretto whipped cream.
To make the whipped cream - Pour the heavy whipping cream into a very
cold mixing bowl, and whip on high, adding cinnamon, amaretto and
powdered sugar. Whip until soft peaks hold their place when you lift
the beater. Refrigerate whipped cream until you are ready to serve it.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Well this dish has a great story to it! This Mexican style meat and vegetable stew has become one of our favorite Mexican dishes. While on vacation late last year, we found ourselves stopping for lunch at a tiny little roadside restaurant complete with dirt floors and open air seating, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains in Northwestern Mexico. We had just visited the little town of La Noria (the restaurant being named the same). The town of La Noria has been around since the late 1500's, and I dare say has changed very little since then. It's a quaint little place where you can watch craftsmen making leather goods, ceramics and the like, about 20 miles east of Mazatlan. Only a couple of the roads are paved in cobblestones, and the rest are dirt and rocks. Nope - it's not glamorous, but it's the kind of place that your heart falls in love with when you are there - smiling babies, little old ladies and leathered old men going about their work, shy young boys running about handing you flowers.

So, back to the restaurant and this dish.... A molcajete (mohl-kah-HEH-tay) (short e sound, like "let") is a stone tool, often carved from volcanic rock, that is among the world's oldest kitchen tools. It is the Mexican version of a mortar and pestle, that is used for grinding food products. The molcajete was used by pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican cultures (such as the Aztec and Maya), stretching back several thousand years. The rough surface of the stone is ideal for crushing and grinding spices, and in the preparation of salsas and guacamole. Molcajetes are also used as serving vessels in restaurants and homes.
While recipes are usually not cooked in them, the
molcajete stays hot for a very long time, and it is not unusual for a
dish to still be bubbling a half hour after serving.

The dish that was served to us in the molcajete that lazy afternoon in La Noria was similar to fajitas, but served in a rich, tomato based soup/stew. Similar seasonings and meats (chicken, flank steak, shrimp, etc), similar vegetables (onions, peppers, etc).... all bathed in a bubbling stew of beefy tomato based broth... topped off with a Mexican crumbly cheese and slices of cool creamy avocado... served with tortillas that had been slightly charred over an open fire. To wash it down? Big hand made ceramic mugs of fresh squeezed and slightly frozen, slushy limeade. All the while, colorful roosters are walking around like they own the place, checking you out, daring you to speak out against this humble little family run establishment. Hey rooster--- keep your spurs on! The food was AMAZING, and I'm sure we'll be back there at some point in our lives.

Please don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. This dish is one of those - chop, prep, and dump it all together recipes. Very easy. If you are not lucky enough to own an "authentico" molcajete (perhaps because TSA wouldn't let you hand carry it through security)... you can just serve it from a black iron skillet or maybe a cast enamel dutch oven. Both of those would hold the heat very well.

Start by getting the garlic roasting, as this step takes the longest. You can have this going the whole time you are chopping, trimming and doing all the other prep. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Chop only the top of the garlic off, exposing all the little "cells" of garlic cloves. Line a small pan with aluminum foil and place the garlic clove in the middle. Pour the olive oil over the garlic, allowing it to go down into the cloves. "Close up" the aluminum foil, and bake for about 45 minutes in the oven. The garlic will become almost as creamy as butter, and the flavor will mellow out tremendously. No longer will the caramelized roasted garlic have the "bite" associated with raw garlic. After baking and cooling, you can just take the whole garlic head, turn it over and squeeze out the soft roasted garlic.

The head of roasted garlic

While the garlic is in the oven, start on chicken and veggie prep. Trim the chicken of any fat and cut into strips if using whole breasts. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, ancho chili powder and lots of cumin. Watch that ancho chili powder - it's hot! Cut the veggies into strips, the tomatoes into wedges.

Trimmed, seasoned chicken

Prepped vegetables.

Start the cooking. Cook bacon pieces until brown and crisp, then remove to another plate, leaving the drippings. Add canola oil to the bacon fat and then sear the chicken. Flip to the other side when golden brown for a total time of about 7-8 minutes. Next, add the veggies to the chicken, garlic last. Give it all a good stir. Add the tomato and enchilada sauce, then the chicken stock. Simmer for about 10 minutes, adjusting the seasoning and adding a bit of oregano. You can use Mexican oregano if you can find it, but I just had the regular kind.

Crisp up the bacon.

Sear the chicken.

Brown the chicken on both sides before adding vegetables.

Add the roasted garlic.

Add the crisp bacon.

Give it all a good stir.

Add the tomato sauce.

Add the tomato wedges.

Add the enchilada sauce.

Add the beef broth.

More cumin.

Add some oregano.

Needs a big squeeze of lime juice.

Put it all together. To the hot molcajete (put it in the oven if you don't routinely have use of an open fire like in Mexico), add the broth, chicken, vegetables, and lime juice (you need the acid to brighten it up). Garnish with a ripe avocado that has been sliced and drizzled with lemon juice, fresh cilantro if desired, queso fresqo crumbling cheese and some quesadilla melting cheese.

Chicken Molcajete

Serve. Serve on slightly charred tortillas, with some added creme fraiche or plain old sour cream with a little lime zest, some chopped cilantro, and maybe an extra little squeeze of extra lime juice.

Written Directions:

Start by getting the garlic roasting, as this
step takes the longest. You can have this going the whole time you are
chopping, trimming and doing all the other prep. Preheat the oven to
400 F. Chop only the top of the garlic off, exposing all the little
"cells" of garlic cloves. Line a small pan with aluminum foil and place
the garlic clove in the middle. Pour the olive oil over the garlic,
allowing it to go down into the cloves. "Close up" the aluminum foil,
and bake for about 45 minutes in the oven. The garlic will become
almost as creamy as butter, and the flavor will mellow out
tremendously. No longer will the caramelized roasted garlic have the
"bite" associated with raw garlic. After baking and cooling, you can
just take the whole garlic head, turn it over and squeeze out the soft
roasted garlic.

While the garlic is in the oven, start on chicken and veggie prep.
Trim the chicken of any fat and cut into strips if using whole
breasts. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, ancho chili powder and
lots of cumin. Watch that ancho chili powder - it's hot! Cut the
veggies into strips, the tomatoes into wedges.

Start the cooking. Cook bacon pieces until
brown and crisp, then remove to another plate, leaving the drippings.
Add canola oil to the bacon fat and then sear the chicken. Flip to the
other side when golden brown for a total time of about 7-8 minutes.
Next, add the veggies to the chicken, garlic last. Give it all a good
stir. Add the tomato and enchilada sauce, then the chicken stock.
Simmer for about 10 minutes, adjusting the seasoning and adding a bit of
oregano. You can use Mexican oregano if you can find it, but I just
had the regular kind.

Put it all together. To the hot molcajete (put
it in the oven if you don't routinely have use of an open fire like in
Mexico), add the broth, chicken, vegetables, and lime juice (you need
the acid to brighten it up). Garnish with a ripe avocado that has been
sliced and drizzled with lemon juice, fresh cilantro if desired, queso
fresqo crumbling cheese and some quesadilla melting cheese.

Serve. Serve on slightly charred tortillas,
with some added creme fraiche or plain old sour cream with a little lime
zest, some chopped cilantro, and maybe an extra little squeeze of extra
lime juice.Want more awesome Mexican Recipes?Visit my Recipe Index for lots of family favorites!

Looking for delicious and easy ideas? Please visit my Recipe Index for tons of things to cook with and for your family... or just for yourself! Here are a few things to get you started:

About Me

I am a prototypical modern American mom. I am retired professor of Anatomy & Physiology at a private Christian University, and mother to four beautiful children (3 boys and 1 girl). I am also a food blogger, cookbook author, and have owned my own cafe. My background is a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience with emphasis on antioxidant research. My postdoctoral training was in human obesity and caloric restriction.

I grew up in South Louisiana where the best food in the world is routinely brought from the garden and the water, and put on the table. Everyone in my family of origin is a wonderful cook, so I guess it is just natural that I show my love to my family through food.

I love cooking and eating... and teaching my children the art and techniques of being in the kitchen. My mother taught me that there is always SOME part of the cooking process that even small children can help with...so my kids are indeed very familiar with the kitchen, the kitchen tools, use of homegrown herbs, etc.